'Frozen II' A Review

Frozen II is an animated musical fantasy, a sequel to the 2013 Disney hit. The movie opens with Elsa and Anna as children being told a story by their father and sung a song by their mother which go into their kingdom's past dealing with a neighboring tribe. Flash forward back to the "present" and Elsa as queen leads a celebration of the autumnal harvest. The celebration is interrupted by rogue magical elements and the city is evacuated. Elsa sets off north to find the cause and Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven soon follow. As they unravel the current mystery a dark past comes to light.

The returning voice cast are all charming and grapple with some darker material this go around, and there is the addition of some fun celebs to spice things up but that functions more as a guess-that-voice game for adults rather than actual roles that really pop. The music is playful and fun for the most part with the occasional emotional crescendo but none of the songs manages to hit the "Let It Go" resonance to propel it to a #1 hit.

Certainly charming, with some breathtaking animation and action, but the plot itself is too convoluted with attempts(maybe?) at historical/political commentary which are too vague to really land(or make much sense) and seem mostly out of place in a family(read kids) movie. The characters retain their previous infectious joy and inspiration but this is despite the story not because of it.

In the tradition of Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride this may have been more appropriate as a direct-to-video release.

Stream It.